California’s 2014 ban on retailers handing out free thin plastic bags – which after two years has still not gone into effect – will come back to life again as Proposition 67 on the 8 November state election ballot. The ban was signed into law by the governor of the US state, Jerry Brown, in late August 2014 – see Plasteurope.com of 02.09.2014. However, opponents successfully leveraged a clause in the California state constitution triggering a referendum to possibly overturn it if enough signatures are collected. Altogether 800,000 signatures opposing the ban were received. Voters will be asked to mark “yes” if they believe the ban should take effect, “no”, to kill the legislation. If voters approve, the new rules would take effect on 9 November.

Proponents of the ban point to massive lobbying against it by the bag industry, led by the American Progressive Bag Alliance (http://plasticsindustry.org/apba), an organisation representing bag manufacturers. One of the most active has been identified as Hilex Poly (Hartsville, South Carolina / USA; www.hilexpoly.com), which bills itself as the world's largest retail carryout packaging manufacturer. California reports suggest that the industry has spent as much as USD 6m on lobbying to overturn the legislation – simply getting Proposition 67 on the ballot is said to have cost USD 3m – while environmental advocates have spent around USD 1.6m to help push it through.

Among other things, the 2014 legislation, which bag makers argue represents a “government-supported billion-dollar transfer of wealth from working families to grocers,” requires that retailers charge 10 cents for a thicker plastic bag or a paper bag. Th former must contain at least some recycled content. While the bag alliance calculates that producing thicker bags could actually increase plastics consumption by as much as 30%, its members would not stand to benefit, as the cost of buying additional polymer might not be offset by bag sales.

In the event that voters in November support the ban – a recent newspaper poll showed proponents clearly ahead – bag makers have drafted a second ballot item, Proposition 65, requiring that retailers redirect revenues from the sale of the paper or thick plastic bags to an environmental fund administered by the state Wildlife Conservation Board. The original bill allowed them to keep the cash. The California Grocers Association (Sacramento, Californa / USA; www.cagrocers.com) which supports the ban and has accused bag makers of trying to undermine it, insists that its members will not profit from the charge. On the contrary, they could have to pay as much as 10 cents for a paper bag, compared with only a few cents for the thin plastic. With the status of the law still unclear, reports say most retailers have not ordered additional bags for the Christmas shopping season, possibly leading to a shortage.

At present, around 150 California cities and counties, including Los Angeles and San Francisco, have passed restrictions governing thin plastic bags. Chicago and New York, along with many smaller cities, have moved to curb consumption. The city council of Boston, Massachusetts is currently weighing restrictions, but no decision has been made as to whether to ban the thin bags or make retailers charge for carrier bags. Any rules passed by the city could provide an impetus for a state-wide ban, many speculate, especially as Boston legislators dominate the state assembly. Some 30 Massachusetts towns already have restrictions in place.